Rib-knitting machine.



PATBNTED JULY 12, 1904.

F. LASHER-l RIB KNITTING MACHINE.-l

AYPPLIGATION FILED 00T. 1, 1898.

n NO MODEL.

INV-ENTER lf-'ENK LA SEER,

llNiTED STATES Patented July 12, 1904.

PATENT OEETCE.

TO llLLlAM H. BRADFORD,

OF BENNINGTON, VERMONT.

RIB-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,607, dated July 12, 1904.

Application filed October l, 1898.

To r/,ZZ Ill/mm, it Tit/Ly concern:

Be it known that l, FRANK LASHER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the villag'e of Bennington, in the county of Bennington and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Rib-Knitting Machines, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to improvements in knitting-machines by the use whereof it is rendered practicable to use much finer needles than have hitherto been used; to construct machines of much liner gage; to knit much coarser yarn on fine needles or on a fine-gage machine than has hitherto been feasible; to protect the needles against breakage, thereby reducing' defects in the fabric caused by broken needles; to greatly increase the range of eapacity of the machine for handling all varieties of yarn from the finest and most even and uniform to the coarsest and most rotten, and to run the machine containing' these improvements at a much higher .rate of speed than otherwise would be practicable, thereby increasing the production. These improvenients are specially adapted for use on circular rib-knitting machines, but are capable of other applications. They embrace devices for supporting' the heads of the needles when advanced to receive thc feed-thread against both rearward and lateral deflection caused by the thrust or wedging action of the sinker-blade in the process of inserting the feed-thread between two adjacent needles. This support is preferably in the form of an annulus or ring which in rib-knitting circular machines is carried on some concentric member of the machine which rotates in unison with the needlec vlinder to the needles of which the feedthread is supplied, which member in this case is the opposite cylinder, and it may be designed and constructed as an attachable or integral part of such member.

My invention is especially applicable to all machines in which each needle is individually reciprocated, and while the needles are elevated or advanced to the forward limit of their respective strokes the sinker-blades insert the yarn between them to form the loops. It is Serial No. 692,377. (No model.)

Well known among' users of knitting-machines of this class that when the needles are forced forward or upward to the limit of their stroke while the yarn is being sunk between them they are unsupported except by their attachment in some cases to a driving-jack and by the retaining-bands, by which they are confined in their respective grooves in the needlecylinder and, their tops being unsupported, are liable to be pushed over backwardly by the sinker-blades forcing and straining the yarn around and against them, and if the sinkers carry a feed-thread which is large or lumpy, so as to crowd the needles apart or to one side while sinking the loops, the tops of the needles are liable to be spread apart sidewise to such an extent as to produce `long loops or stitches of unequal lengths and otherwise defective. y. The main object of this invention is to provide a remedy for these evils, to correct this erratic conduct of the needles, and to enable coarse heavy yarn to be knit upon a line-gage y machine.

Straight smooth rods have been long in use in straight knitting-machines to support the heads or tops of the advanced needles while the feed-thread is being sunk by the sinkers; but the application of such a support to the needles of circular machines has hitherto remained in abeyance on account, among other things, of the diverse nature of .the two classes of machines. As the motions of straight knitting-machines are intermittent and successive, while the motions of the circular machines are concurrent and continuous, it has not been so easy'to adapt characteristic features of straight machines to circular ones as to adapt circular devices to straight machines. Such straight supporting-bars in straightmachines, however, only supported the ends of the advanced needles against the direct thrust of the sinkers, but did not afford any protection against side spreading of the needles, while my improvement not only furnishes a perfect equivalent 'in a circular machine for the old smooth supporting-bar of the straight machines, but also combines therewith inthe same device the means for preventing side spreading or lateral deflectionq of the needles while the sinker-blades are sinking the loops. To support the needles for the pur poses aforesaid, l have provided sockets or matrices for the needles, into which their tops are forced and where they remain while the sinkers are sinking the yarn to form the stitches or loops. These matrices in circular machines are preferably formed on a hoop or ring by grooving its periphery vertically in line with the needle-grooves of the cylinder with which it cooperates and by making the openings of these grooves toward the tops of the needles which enter them Haring or trumpet-shaped, so that if a needle in its ascent or forward stroke happens to be bent or sprung a little out of line this funnel-shaped mouth will guide its head into the matrix with certainty and without damage to the needle'itself or to the yarn. rlhe bottoms of these grooves act to support the needles against the direct thrust of the sinkers in feeding the yarn and the drag or strain of the yarn around the needle-stems after the loops are formed, while the side walls of the grooves resist the tendency of the sinkers loaded with the yarn, if coarse or lumpy, to spread the needles apart sidewise. These matrices are applicable to any kind of knitting-machine in which sinkers are employed, and the piece upon which they are constructed is called a matrix-ring or, if straight, a matrix-ban.

The invention is fully illustrated in the drawings, whereinw Figure 1 shows a vertical semidiametrical section of a circular rib-knitting machine, taken through the axis of thefneedle-cylinders. Fig. 2 is a perspective sectional detail of a portion of the matrix-ring drawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the needle-cylinder which carries the matrix-ring before the grooves are cut.

ln carrying out my invention I employ two conical cylindrical needle beds 17 and 18. The upper cylinder 18 is attached to a gear 7 by means of a flanged vclamping-ring 60 and bolts g. rlhe upper end of this cylinder, the lower end of the hub of gear 7, and the ring 60 are fitted with shoulders and flanges, as at 70, so as to secure a rigid structure of solidity and concentricity. The hub of gear 7 is turned to lit a circular opening or bearing in the middle of table 4, in which it rotates. The lower cylinder 17 is attached to the gear 6 by means of a separable hub 16 and the clampingring 61, the four parts being held together by means of the bolts Z and f, the ring 61 binding the needle-cylinder to hub 16 by means of the concentric ,flange-joint shown at 71. ln the center of the lower table 2 is a central offset or depression, which is centrally bored for a bearing for the hub 16, so that when all the parts are assembled they will form the running joint 73 74 75. The sinker-bed is shown at 8 and is a toothed annulus which runs beneath a stationary cover 24 upon a suitable track, the concentric groove 77 resting upon said track. The gears 6 and 7 and the sinkerbed 8 are all of the same pitch diameter and are all driven by pinion-gears on a common shaft, which is not here shown, but is well understood by those conversant with this class of machines. Thus the needle cylinders and sinker-bed move in unison.

In this development of my invention the matrix ring is preferably attached to the upper needle-cylinder and cooperates with the lower set of needles; but it may be carried by any concentric member of the machine which revolves in unison with the needles with which said ring cooperates. The upper cylinder is first turned to the shape shown in cross-sec tion in Fig. 3 and is then grooved for the reception of the needles to the depth shown by the dotted line .fr a', Fig. 3. Annular springband seats u u are provided, in which the spring-bands 29 29 are seated. Just enough space exists under these bands for the needles to play freely. The jacks J J and needles 27 27 occupy the needle-grooves and are reciprocated by means of actuating-cams 23 and 23" in the usual way. Near the extreme lower edge of the upper cylinder is a row of tricks p p, which serve to guide the lower ends of the upper set of needles. 'The conical surfaces of the two cylinders are inc-lined away from each other sufciently to permit the introduction of the matrix-ring between the upwardly-projected needles of the lower cylinder and the surface of the upper cylinder. At this point an annular seat t is provided, over which the matrix-ring R is shrunk or otherwise fitted. The outer edge of this ring is transversely indented or grooved to correspond with the needle-grooves of the lower cylinder, and the lower portion of these grooves is cut back, as at a, Fig. 2, to impart the Haring or funnel shaped characteristic previously referred to. By using a tool which leaves the front edges of the tricks thinner than the roots a are is imparted tothe sides of the grooves, as at fr. These intervals between the tricks constitute the matricea and when the needles of the lower cylinder are pushed up by the lower set of cams their heads or tops enter these matrices, as shown at Figs.l 1 and 2. 'As the cloth is drawn out through the gap 62 between the cylinders its drag on the needles tends to draw the needles backwardly down against the bottom of the matrices and needle-grooves of the cylinder, so that there can be no possible movement of the head of the needle while the sinkers are inserting the yarn to form the loops.

These matrices may be formed in a variety of ways, and I do not restrict myself to the particular form of detail here shown as applied to circular knitting-machines, but claim all equiva-` lents for that here shown, including any kind of a needle-support located in the relation TOO IIO

hereinbefore described which confines and t supports the elevated or advanced tops of the needles against the thrust of the sinkers in the formation of the stitch-loops.

The flaring-mouthed matrices, as before shown, for supporting the tops of the needles when advanced to receive the feed-thread are equally as well adapted for straight knitting where all the needles are attached to a common needle-bar and are reciprocated simultaneously as to cylinder-machines and independently-movable needles, and I claim all such applications of these improvements. As the bottoms of the indentations in the supporting-ring, against which the backs of the needles rest when forced backwardly by the thrust of the sinker-blades, collectively considered, are analogous to and perform the same supporting function as a smooth ring would furnish in the same relation, said smooth or unindented ring is herein regarded as the equivalent of the matrix-ring to that extent.

Having' thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A needle-head-supporting` matrix attached to one of a pair of rotating needle cylinders or beds and located in the longitudinal path of a needle connected with the'other needle-cylinder and outside of the field of action of the sinker-blades in combination with said needle-cylinders, needles and means for reciprocating said needles and actuating said cylinders in unison.

2. A pair of needle-cylinders each of which is equipped with a series of independently-reciprocating needles, a corresponding series of devices connected with one of said cylinders adapted to receive and support against lateral and rearward deflection the heads of the needles of the other cylinder when the same are advanced to receive the feed-thread from the yarn-sinking devices, in combination with a yarn-sinking device or devices adapted to sink the stitches between said needles and beneath said supports and above the latter cylinder and means for reciprocating the needles and means for supplying' the yarn to the sinking devices.

3. rI`he described needle-head-supporting matrix adapted for use in the relation to the cylinders and stitch-sinking devices substantiall y as described, and having a funnel-shaped mouth for facilitating the ready entrance of the needle-head.

4. The combination with the needle-cylinders 1T and 18 -and their respective sets of needles of the matrix-ring R having the tricks fn fr, v1 fr, the intervals between which constitute matrices for the support of the heads of the needles of theccylinder 17.

The combination of the series of needlehead supports connected with one cylinder, with both cylinders and their needles the sinker-ring and sinkers and means for actuating said cylinders, needles, sinker-ring and,

sinkers, so that the sinkers shall act in a plane between the needle-head supports and the rim of the other cylinder.

6. The combination in a knitting-machine with a grooved needlebed, a series of independent needles and means for actuating' the same of a rigid device for receiving and supporting the heads of the needles against rearward deflection and side spreading due to the action of the yarn-sinking' blades or the loading up of the needles with superfluous yarn, said device consisting of a bar transversely grooved to receive the needle heads, said grooves being sunk to a depth sufficient to form partitions which present practically parallel side walls to the needles and project outwardly beyond the axes of the needles sufficiently to positively prevent lateral displacement of the needles in the emergencies incidental to the ordinary conditions of operation.

7. In knitting machines employing independent needles and stitch-sinking',blades, the combination .with the needle-bed and needles of a series of fixed matrices or sockets which receive the heads of the needles above the sinkers, said matrices being open on the side toward the sinkers but recessed to such a depth as absolutely to prevent, by means of the partitions intervening between the needles, any possible lateral displacement of the needles when entered therein in the normal process of knitting'.

8. A matrix-ring for use in circular-knitting machines employing independent needles to receive and support the heads of the needles during the yarn-sinking operation, indented to receive the needle-heads, substantially as shown, to a depth to have the division-tricks between the needles projecting beyond the bodies of the needles, constructed and arranged to operate substantially as specified.

9. In a knitting-machine, the combination with a grooved-needle bed, of independent needles to slide therein, and means for actuating said needles, of a notched bar located in the path of the needles when advanced to receive the feed-thread, adapted to receive the heads of the needles and support them individually against side spreading during the yarn-sink- TOO IIO

ing process, the mouth of each notch being outwardly flared in funnel shape to guide distorted or bent needles into their respectively correct positions, substantially as specified.

lO. In combination in acircularspring-needle knitting-machine, a row of independently- 'operated spring-needles, a row of independently-operated sinkers encircling the needle row, a supporting-ring encircling the needle row for the hook ends of the needles when the said needles are advanced to receive the thread from the said sinkers, the independently-operated sinkers being arranged to feed the yarn to the needles intermediate of the support and the needle-bed, substantially as described.

11. In con'ibinationin a circular si'n'ing-needle knitting-machine, a row ot' independentlyoperated spring-needles, a row of independently-operated sinkers encircling' the needle row, means encircling' the needle row for snpporting the hook ends of the needles when the said needles are advanced to receive the thread from the sinkers, the independently-operated sinkers being' arranged to feed the varn to the needles intermediate of the hook-end supports and the needle-bed, substantially as specilied.

12. The combination in a circular knitting'- machine, of a row of independently-operated needles, a row o1independently-operated sinkers encircling' the needle row, means en circling the needle row for supporting the hook ends ot' the needles when advanced to receive the thread from the sinkers, said needle-supporting means beingV carried on a concentric inember of the machine which rotates inl unison with the needles, the said sinkers being' arranged to feed the lvarn'to the needles intermediate the hook-end supports and the needle-. bed with which they are connected, substantially as specilied.

13. The combination in a circular knittingmachine of a needle-bed and independent needles, a concentric sinler-bed and independent sinkers, and a concentric supporting device connected with one of said beds adapted to support the needles by their heads when advanced to receive the'fced-thread from the sinkers, with means for actuating' said needlebed and needles, and sinker-bed and sinkers, substantially as specified.

Signed by ine at Bennington, Vermont, this 10th day of September', 1898.

FRANK LASHER.

fitnesses:

FRANKLIN SCOTT, EMILY SCOTT. 

